


Alternate Track 2

by Stormwolf_dawn



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: AU, Alternate Universes, M/M, Multiple Partners, Series: Alternate Track Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-10
Updated: 2013-05-10
Packaged: 2017-12-10 23:57:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/791661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stormwolf_dawn/pseuds/Stormwolf_dawn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim returns home.<br/>This story is a sequel to Alternate Track.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Alternate Track 2

**Author's Note:**

> This story is sort of an alternate ending to the Cheyenne series written by YS McCool and is written with her permission. It is neccessary to have read both the Cheyenne series and the first Alternate Track to understand the story. Also if you didn't like Alternate Track, then don't read this one because I refuse to read your complaints.

## Alternate Track 2

by Stormwolf

Author's webpage: <http://www.geocities.com/Stormwolf_dawn>

* * *

The lone figure walked along the near deserted mountain highway. The  
man wore torn and faded jeans, a flannel shirt that fit his frame  
loosely, and boots that had seen better days. Dirt smeared across the  
clothes, and mud caked to the boots. But the man continued to walk  
down the highway, not bothering to stick out his thumb in the  
universal gesture when a car drove by. 

Jim watched the red Ford Taurus drive by as he continued to walk. It  
had been a month since he had snuck out of the house he had called  
home where he lived with Simon and Blair. During that time he had  
lived in the mountains as a jaguar, rarely taking human form.  
Eventually, he had realized that he couldn't live like that forever,  
and decided to go back to Cascade secretly to just find out what was  
occurring, and then to quietly slip out again if the news wasn't so  
good. 

He missed Simon and Blair so much. At night, even in jaguar form, he  
dreamed of them. Their faces, their hands on his body, the feeling of  
their minds brushing against his. He missed his sister, Gaby, he  
missed Daryl, he missed everyone, and wished many times that he could  
go back to before. Before he had become even more of a freak than he  
thought he was. 

The sound of a vehicle moving towards him brought Jim out of his  
thoughts in time to see the Sheriff's Deputy jeep drive around the  
bend into his sight. The jeep slowed upon sighting him, and  
eventually drove beside Jim as he walked. The Deputy inside rolled  
down his window and looked at Jim. Jim continued to walk forward, not  
looking at the Deputy. 

"Are you alright, son?" The Deputy asked taking in the torn and muddy  
clothes, and Jim's faraway look. 

Jim said nothing. 

"Are you deaf, son?" The deputy asked kindly thinking Jim might be  
injured or actually be deaf. "Are you hurt?" 

Jim shook his head, hoping the deputy would leave him be. He  
continued to walk. 

The deputy pulled the jeep in front of Jim blocking is path. Jim  
stopped before he walked into the jeep. The deputy stepped out of the  
jeep and walked over to Jim, who walked backwards to get away. 

The deputy took Jim's appearance, and fear into believing Jim was  
either a wanted criminal, hurt too bad to understand what was going  
on, or a mentally handicapped person, and reached out grabbing Jim's  
wrist. 

Jim fought then, trying to get away. But the Deputy was well trained  
and used pressure points to maneuver Jim onto the jeep's hood  
bringing the sentinel's hands behind his back where he handcuffed  
them together. The deputy spoke to Jim like one would a child, trying  
to calm the sentinel. Jim fought back as best he could, but pressure  
points manipulated on a sentinel HURT, especially a sentinel who was  
having trouble dialing down the pain. 

Eventually, the deputy placed Jim in the back seat of the jeep,  
placed the seat belt over Jim's chest and lap buckling him into  
place. He then got back into the driver's seat and drove off. 

When the reached the Sheriff's station, the deputy explained to the  
Sheriff what had happened. Jim said nothing when the Sheriff asked  
him questions, staring straight ahead, practically lost in a zone.  
The Sheriff agreed with the deputy in thinking Jim might be injured  
or mentally handicapped and had the deputy drive Jim to the local  
hospital to be checked out by a physician. 

The doctor said Jim wasn't injured and was suffering from  
malnutrition, and was perhaps suffering from mental trauma. The  
doctor gave the deputy instructions on Jim's care but felt he would  
be alright to be released tot he deputy's custody. The deputy then  
took Jim back to the station where he was fingerprinted for  
identification purposes then placed in a single cell. His rights were  
read to him but they did expect he would understand. They were  
waiting for his fingerprints to come back before deciding what to do. 

A meal was brought. A home cooked meal made by the Sheriff's wife, but  
was left untouched by the sentinel. When the Sheriff saw Jim curl  
into a ball on the cot and begin to shiver he covered the sentinel  
himself with two heavy blankets brought over by his wife. 

Finally, the prints yielded information. The fax said that Jim was a  
missing person and gave a contact number to a Captain Simon Banks of  
the Cascade police. 

When Simon Banks took the call that Rhonda forwarded to him from a  
Sheriff Tate in the next county over, he didn't expect what it was  
about. 

He listened intently when Sheriff Tate told him that they had Jim  
Ellison at their jail. He made appropriate noises when the Sheriff  
told him that Jim was not under arrest but had been read his rights.  
When the Sheriff told him about Jim's condition, Simon assured the  
man that he would be there as quickly as possible to take custody of  
Ellison. 

When he hung up the phone, Simon quickly picked it back up and called  
Blair at the house. 

Blair was ecstatic that Jim had been found because it meant the  
sentinel was alive. But he sobered quickly as he realized what else  
it meant. He told Simon he would be ready when Banks got there. 

Daryl watched Gaby while Simon and Blair drove to the next county to  
the Sheriff's station. 

Sheriff Tate greeted them. 

"Welcome, Captain Banks. I've heard good things about Cascade Police,  
Major crimes in particular." 

"Thank you, Sheriff. I guess, though, its time to get down to  
unpleasant business. Here." Simon handed over a stack of papers. 

The Sheriff looked at them, "What is this?" He asked. 

"Those are court orders giving me custody of James Joseph Ellison."  
Simon said with a touch of sadness in his voice. 

"Why would you need these?" Tate asked curious. 

"James Ellison was declared mentally incompetent by the state two  
weeks ago." 

Though James Farrel had hired the best attorney money could buy, the  
high priced lawyer had been unable to stop the courts from declaring  
Jim mentally incompetent mostly because of the fact that Jim had run  
away. However, the man had managed to award Simon custody of Jim  
instead of the state. However, because of mental incompetency  
declaration, Blair and Simon could be charged with rape and numerous  
other charges should their sexual relationship with Jim continue. The  
judge had made that absolutely clear. 

Now that Jim was back, the lawyer could petition the court for  
another hearing to allow Jim to fight for his rights. 

The Sheriff nodded, "Alright. Come on back, then." 

Blair and Simon followed the Sheriff through the back and to the  
single cell where Jim lay huddled on a cot swathed in heavy blankets.  
The doctor had had Jim cleaned up at the hospital and given clean  
clothes for the sentinel to wear. The Sheriff opened the cell and  
Blair immediately went to Jim practically falling to his knees beside  
the cot. 

Though Jim wasn't zoned, the sentinel was staring straight ahead, his  
eyes unfocused. He had no doubt heard what Simon had said to the  
Sheriff. 

Though Jim was glad to see them, he did not show it. Instead, he  
built his shields up around his mind even more, and kept a blank  
stare in his eyes, and a stony expression on his face. 

"He's lost so much weight, Simon." 

Indeed, Jim was pale and his cheeks were hollowed out. Though Jim was  
still well muscled, all the fat had been burned from his body, and he  
had dropped at least twenty pounds. 

"Doc said he was malnourished, but he wouldn't eat his meal that my  
Maggie brung him. He fought with my deputy when he was taken into  
custody, but afterwards he settled down. He remained like this, just  
looking kinda lost." 

Simon nodded, "Thank you, Sheriff. We'll be taking him, and he'll get  
the help he needs." 

The Sheriff nodded. 

Simon and Blair hauled Jim to his feet. The sentinel remained on his  
feet, but had to be led from the cell out of the building to Blair's  
vehicle. 

Once Jim was seated in the passenger seat in the back, buckled in for  
safety, and covered with a warm blanket, Simon and Blair got in and  
drove away from the Sheriff's station back to Cascade and everything  
that awaited them there. 

When they reached the house that they had shared for so long, Simon noticed his parents van waiting in the driveway. 

"Looks like Darryl called your parents." Blair said. 

Simon nodded, who else would. Simon parked the SUV beside his parents van and turned off the ignition. Sighing, he leaned back in his seat and turned to look at his lover, who looked back at him with blue eyes behind glasses. Then both turned their attention to the passenger behind them who had yet to have spoken one word. Simon climbed out of the SUV, and shut the door hearing Blair exiting the vehicle on the other side. Simon opened the passenger door behind the driver's side door, and looked at the sentinel that refused to look at him. He reached in and undid the seat belt and allowed it to slide back into its case. He gently grasped Jim's upper arm, and said, "Come on, Jim. Let's go inside." 

Jim climbed out of the vehicle meekly, and walked beside Simon who continued to guide the sentinel with a hand on Jim's arm. Blair moved in on Jim's other side as if to trap the sentinel between them. 

They walked to the front door that was already opened by Helen Banks who stood waiting for the three of them. Her face showed her concern, but she said nothing as they walked past her into the house. She quietly shut the door behind them and followed them into the living room. 

They had hoped to steer Jim to the couch, but at the last moment Jim seemed to find himself, and shake free of their grip. He looked around as if seeing the house and the people inside for the first time. His eyes moved over Simon and Blair to Helen and Marvin, then to his sister who looked as if she was about to cry. Strangely to Simon's mind when Jim's eyes rested on Darryl, the head dropped, and the sentinel's feet carried him to the bedroom that had been a front, and was now his true bedroom. He shut the door behind him as he disappeared into the room. 

Simon looked at Blair a question in his eyes. Blair shrugged, unknowing of what it was he should do. 

"Does he know?" Marvin asked. 

Simon wasn't sure, but Blair answered, "Yes." 

"Give him some time, then. Have you notified Mark McGuire?" Marvin asked. Mark McGuire was the lawyer that had represented the absent Jim at the hearing. 

Blair nodded. He had called Mark the minute he had hung up the phone when Simon had called him. Mark had said that he would notify the people that needed to know, and begin the process of appealing the decision. 

While they talked, Darryl took Gaby out of the room. The youngest Ellison appeared on the verge of tears not understanding what was happening to her oldest brother. 

After having closed the door behind him, Jim had reached up to lock it only to find the lock that he knew had been there suspiciously absent. Glaring at the offending spot where the lock had been, Jim growled to himself then turned and stalked to the bed. 

You're just a kid now, Jimmy. Jim thought to himself. Of course they are not going to let you be able to lock yourself in anymore. It hurt to know that he had very few rights now. He wondered when the day would come that all his rights would be stripped from him. On that day he would be nothing more than a beast to society, and would no doubt be locked away in a cage for society's safety. 

Flopping down on to his bed, Jim noticed immediately that all his stuff had been moved down to this room. The sheets and blankets that had been just for show had been replaced with silk sheets, and a dark blue duvet. 

Grasping the pillow he hugged it beneath his head turning on his left side and tried to fight the tears that wanted to fall. 

That which he had dreamed of for the past weeks, the longing he felt would forever be out of reach for him now. He was no longer allowed by the laws he had sworn himself to enforce to be with his lovers again. To know their caress and feel them inside his body. With everything taken from him, Jim wondered for the first time since the beginning of the nightmare why he still lived. His next thought frightened him even as he embraced it. Where is my gun? 

End of Alternate Track II 


End file.
